1. Make it fast:The higher the amount of time they have to invest, the less interested your employees will be. They’re busy at work, after all. This is why pulse surveys—short and frequent—are the way to go. Also make sure that the survey is easy for them to fill out. Ditch the 10-page paper packets, and if you use an online survey, make sure it’s a simple click-and-done format.

2. Share your wins: Sure, you know that you’re sincere about using the survey to make your employees happier, but they might need a little convincing. Tell them about the improvements you’re making in response to their input. Now isn’t the time to be modest and assume that people will find out on their own. Blow your own horn! Announce wins over email, discuss them at company meetings, or post them on the wall in the auditorium.

3. Don’t skip the hard parts: If and when you get negative feedback in your survey, don’t hide from it. Discuss it as openly as the rest of the responses. Otherwise your employees might assume that you aren’t taking criticism seriously. If it’s uncomfortable or nerve-racking to put yourself and the company out there, keep in mind that being open will show your people that you’re human too.

4. No survey is an island: The survey is part of your relationship with your employees, but it can’t carry the burden by itself. Use team-building activities and open, transparent communication to foster an environment of trust and camaraderie.

5. Don’t be above a little bribery: There’s nothing wrong with giving people a little nudge. Offer up incentives like a prize drawing for respondents, or maybe rewards for people who build up a streak of taking the survey every week.

6. Survey them about the survey: Find out what your employees want to talk about. Include a suggestion box in the survey where they can list topics that they want to see in future surveys. This way, they’ll know you’re listening, and you’ll know that you’re touching on the issues that are important to them.

Sending out an employee engagement survey is just the first step. It needs to gain traction to be useful. Make sure everyone in your organization knows how important it is and how committed you are to making it work.

This post was written by Dora Wang

Dora is an employee engagement researcher for TINYpulse and managing editor of TINYinstitute. Having grown up in Texas, she is now firmly settled in Seattle, where she spends her free time reading comic books, wrangling her three cats, and (of course) rooting for the Seahawks.